Unveiling the IMS Global Learning Consortium: Shaping the Future of Educational Technology
Educational institutions are increasingly investing in digital learning tools to foster innovation and new learning models. As the digital ecosystem expands, it becomes crucial to gather and analyze data on the usage of these technologies across the institution. This article explores the IMS Global Learning Consortium (now known as 1EdTech), its mission, standards, and its impact on the educational technology landscape.
Introduction: The Need for Interoperability in Education
The proliferation of platforms, applications, systems, and technologies in learning and education underscores the importance of interoperability standards. The IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS GLC), recently rebranded as 1EdTech, is an international organization dedicated to developing open standards that address these challenges.
What is 1EdTech?
1EdTech is a non-profit, member-supported organization that fosters collaboration among higher education institutions, K-12 districts, employers, and technology providers. It aims to create a future-proof edtech ecosystem through community leadership. 1EdTech provides standards and frameworks around content integration, credentialing, analytics, and assessments.
The Evolution of IMS Global Learning Consortium to 1EdTech
Originally an EDUCAUSE project in 1995, the organization evolved into the Instructional Management Systems project, focusing on higher education. Over time, its scope expanded to encompass the interoperability needs of K-12 education, as well as corporate and government training. The rebranding to 1EdTech reflects the organization's commitment to capturing the essence of its community and energizing its mission.
The Mission and Impact of 1EdTech
1EdTech strives to enable the growth and impact of learning technology in the education and corporate sectors globally. It provides collaborative leadership that shapes the foundation of an open edtech ecosystem to enable unlimited potential in every learner. The organization's work breaks down silos within education and between educators and learning technology product suppliers and publishers. By defining standards for interoperability, 1EdTech makes it possible for educators to innovate solutions that support learning.
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Key Standards Developed by 1EdTech
1EdTech has developed numerous standards and frameworks, including:
Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI®): Enables the integration of digital applications, content, tools, and educational apps into learning management systems (LMS). LTI facilitates the exchange of grades and information between the LMS and the educational application, as well as the content used for teaching and learning.
OneRoster®: A standard for securely exchanging class roster information and related data between systems.
Open Badging: A standard for creating, issuing, and verifying digital badges, which represent skills, achievements, and competencies.
Caliper Analytics®: A standard for collecting and sharing learning activity data, enabling institutions to gain insights into student engagement and learning outcomes.
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Common Cartridge: Facilitates the exchange of digital content between different learning management systems, platforms, and tools. Content written in a particular application that conforms to the Common Cartridge standard can be easily moved between systems.
Learning Information Services (LIS): Provides integration between the back-office student information system (ERP) and the LMS, covering the passing of grades and student information.
Question and Test Interoperability (QTI) and Accessible Portable Item Protocol (APIP): Standards focused on assessment, enabling the move from paper-based to digital assessment.
Comprehensive Learner Record (CLR): An inclusive institutional record of a learner's achievements, extending beyond credits and grades to include competencies, digital-age skills, and co-curricular achievements.
Competencies and Academic Standards Exchange (CASE): Provides a consistent way to exchange information about specific learning intentions, connecting academic standards or competencies to programs, courses, assessments, and digital content.
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Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI): Seamless Integration of Learning Tools
Learning Tools Interoperability® (LTI®) is a critical interoperability standard that enables institutions to create a coherent technology ecosystem with products from different vendors. LTI allows courseware and learning tools from various sources to be launched within a learning platform, often an LMS. The LTI integration allows students to move seamlessly between tools with minimal effort from instructors or students.
LTI Advantage: Enhancing Integration and Security
LTI Advantage is a suite of services that builds on the core LTI standard (LTI 1.3) to add new features. These features facilitate deeper integration of any tool with any LMS and offer more advanced protection of sensitive student data.
How LTI Works
LTI provides a mechanism for users (such as students) to navigate among various tools while maintaining security when passing data about the user, their origin, and their role (e.g., faculty, student, TA). The tools can range from simple communication applications to domain-specific learning environments. LTI enables a secure launch from within the learning environment, handling user interface integration, single sign-on to the learning application, and the passing of important context information such as course and user information.
App Stores and Tool Catalogs
An app store or tool catalog lists available tools, often with descriptions and user reviews. These tools frequently leverage LTI standards to integrate into the institution's ecosystem, LMS, or course shell. However, it is crucial to verify whether a tool uses LTI before adoption.
Security and Privacy Considerations with LTI
While LTI solves many challenges, it's essential to examine concerns such as the security of protected data in systems external to the institution. Although LTI moves users and data securely, the encryption of content depends on the tool itself. User data captured by third-party tools is not governed by LTI.
Instructors and institutions should review each LTI tool integration to ensure compliance with national, local, and campus policies and laws related to student information, records, and accessibility. Adopting an LTI tool should follow the same process as contracting with any third party for learning resources.
LTI Versions
LTI has evolved through different versions, with LTI 1.3 being the latest, leveraging the new 1EdTech Security Framework. While previous versions are deprecated, they remain in use in many cases.
Benefits of 1EdTech Certification
Using LTI tools certified by 1EdTech offers the advantage of 1EdTech's support in resolving integration issues. 1EdTech maintains a directory of products that have met conformance criteria for its standards, including LTI.
The Role of Standards in Education
Rob Abel, CEO of IMS Global, emphasized that standards are a powerful way to collaborate, enabling cost containment, scale, and innovation. Effective standards require deep insight and collaboration to ensure they are efficient, effective, and user-friendly.
1EdTech Membership and Community
The 1EdTech community fosters collaboration between institutions and suppliers, building trust and enabling better connectivity among a growing universe of edtech.
Contributing Members
1EdTech Contributing Members (CM) identify the scope of new specifications and new versions. They have access to documents and artifacts during development and vote on the final specifications.
Access to Resources and Support
1EdTech provides free access to specifications and support information. Members receive access to restricted information, support tools, and forums. Document control and issue tracking are managed through 1EdTech GitHub, accessible to members only.
Machine-Readable Files and Conformance Testing
1EdTech produces machine-readable files of specifications, such as XML Schema Definition (XSD), Web Service Description Language (WSDL), JSON Schema, JSON-LD Context, and OpenAPI files, to enable rapid prototyping. Certification requires the use of 1EdTech Conformance Testing Systems, which offer comprehensive tests for both providers and consumers of APIs.
Open Badges: Recognizing Skills and Achievements
Open Badges are digital representations of skills, achievements, and qualities. They are verifiable, portable, and can be shared across different platforms. Open Badges contain metadata that provides information about the issuer, recipient, and evidence of achievement.
The Value of Digital Credentials
Digital credentials make education more relevant by documenting learning in a way that empowers people to plan, track, and share their accomplishments securely. They are increasingly used by institutions and organizations for talent recruitment, transferring, and job applications.
The Future of Educational Technology with 1EdTech
1EdTech is committed to supporting lifelong learning across all segments, including higher education, K-12, and corporate and government training organizations. The organization's initiatives, such as the Open Revolution and the I3LC K-12 initiative, aim to drive innovation and personalized education.
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